View full sizeBob Gathany / The Huntsville TimesJennifer Marsh with her panels and model of the wrapped Saturn V.HUNTSVILLE, AL -- The Dream Rocket has been delayed, but not scrubbed.

Artist Jennifer Marsh has announced The Dream Rocket - an ambitious art project to wrap the Saturn V rocket model with a quilt made of more than 8,000 fabric panels - has been pushed back to May and June 2011.

The $800,000 project, which had been scheduled to go up this May, will now coincide with the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's moon speech in May 2011, which spelled out America's goals of sending a man to the moon before the end of the 1960s. Kennedy made the speech on May 25, 1961.

Marsh said the postponement will allow "people another year to work on the project" and her team more time to "get the word out."

"We're all about falling back and making sure that it is done right," said Capps.

The added time, he said, will allow Marsh and the Space Center time to work out several issues. Because such a project has never been attempted, there are questions about how the panels will be attached to the rocket, how much they will weigh - both dry and wet - and how it will affect Huntsville's most recognizable structure.

"There's no do-overs on this," Capps said. "It's got to happen right the first time. It has to be done safely."

Capps said the center will not "gamble" with the landmark Saturn V, which is visible for miles.The Dream Rocket, according to March's Web site, thedreamrocket.com, aims to connect art and education through a global collaborative initiative.

"It will inspire participants to consider, express and explore their dreams for a better future," the mission statement reads.

"There's no way I could have done it in six months," Marsh said, admitting she's "overwhelmed, but not detracted." She going to do this, she said.

"It's like a baby," Marsh said. "I can't abandoned it."

She thinks big

The Dream Rocket project isn't the first time the Ohio native has wrapped a structure. In 2007, while finishing her master of fine arts degree at Syracuse University, Marsh made national news by wrapping an abandoned gas station with 3,000 hand-stitched panels. Marsh came to Huntsville in late 2008 after accepting a temporary teaching job at UAH. In 2009, she spearheaded the "Interdependence Project," a 17-foot tree with 8,000 handmade leaves. That tree became the centerpiece of the 2009 Panoply Arts Festival in Big Spring International Park, and now sits prominently in the EarlyWorks Children's Museum in downtown Huntsville.

View full sizeMichael Mercier / The Huntsville TimesGary Ross and Jennifer Marsh put the finishing touches on a 4500 lb. tree that was installed in the Early Works Museum rotunda. The tree has 18 limbs, 104 branches and 8000 leaves that were created by children from 39 states and 23 countries.The Dream Rocket is, by far, Marsh's biggest project to date. And it's the first time Marsh has charged a fee to participate: $25 for a 12-inch square panel, $100 for a 2-foot square and $400 for a 4-foot square panel. She's also hoping to attract corporate sponsors.

Marsh said her expenses include legal fees, the cost of insuring the $10 million Saturn V and the money it will take to attach the huge quilt.

Because of its scale, Marsh expects The Dream Rocket to attract national and international attention, which she said will benefit the Space Center, Huntsville and the state of Alabama.

After the 60-day wrapping of the rocket, Marsh plans to take the 8,000 panels on a three-year museum tour.

"It's going to be something unique to see," Capps said. "I think it's a heck of a project."

How to participate:

Individuals, teachers and groups wanting to participate in The Dream Rocket can visit www.thedreamrocket.com or call Jennifer Marsh at 614-561-9057. The fee to place a panel ranges from $25 to $400, but donations are also accepted.